Take It Or Leave It
by luvin-benadam
Summary: She would always be in his heart ... but the question was is he in hers? Woody decides he needs to move on with his life and starts dating Lu. But what happens when he realises that he's screwed everything up?
1. Whipping Cream

READ FIRST!

Ok so I'm telling you this, right here, right now, that by NO means at all am I a Lu/Woody shipper. I'm Jordan/Woody all the way! But I love the angst that comes between Woody and Jordan when Woody explores the dating field. I've been dabbling in old episodes where Devan was still alive and the look Jordan gets whenever Woody mentions their standing Sunday night get togethers or anything to do with Woody and another woman. You can practically see the hurt and jealously that blooms on Jordan's face!

**So I've decided to play with this concept a little and make Jordan fully realize that she does have feelings for Woody. Just to warn you now … it's gonna be pretty angsty. But angst is good for the soul! On with the story! Oh and by the way this takes place after the newest episode … can't remember what it's called. **

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He sat there beside her in the chair, watching as she raised each grape to her lips and slipped it into her mouth, allowing it to roll across her tongue before it popped and the juices came squirting out. He smiled to himself, admiring how she found amusement in such simple things; simple things that Jordan would take for granted in seconds.

_'Stop thinking about Jordan you idiot!' _Woody thought to himself, still watching Lu enjoying her grapes. _'You're here with a gorgeous woman who's extremely attracted to you and you're thinking about stubborn, blunt, unethical Jordan.'_

He pushed her out of his head for the millionth time that night. Sure, Lu was great. But she just wasn't Jordan. Woody wondered if he would ever be happy with someone other than her.

"I'm gonna get some more coffee," he said abruptly, standing up and walking into his kitchen. "You want some?" he called back to her from her spot on his couch.

"Sure," she answered back, pulling her knees out from under her and joining him in the kitchen. "Got any Bailey's?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his muscular stomach from behind and tapping her fingernails against his abs. He turned around, her arms still wrapped tightly around him, and tilted his head down to look at her, resting his forehead against hers.

From behind his back, he silently pulled off the cap from the whip cream bottle and distracting her with a kiss, tipped it upside down and brought it over her head, pressing the nozzle and allowing the white foam to cascade down upon her blonde hair. She shrieked, pulling her arms away from Woody and running away from the spray of the sweet sugary substance wielded by the man who was still a child at heart. He chased after her, still spraying the whip cream everywhere. In a swift movement, she karate chopped him in the side and disarmed him, stealing away the bottle and spraying him back.

This time he ran away, covered from head to foot in white. When the bottle was empty, they stopped and looked around. Most of Woody's kitchen and a portion of his living room were caked in sticky whip cream, including all of Woody and Lu. He walked over to her where she was standing by the sink, holding a wet dishtowel to her blouse. He came up behind her and turned her around, wrinkling up his nose smiling at her.

"Here, let me help you," he said, placing his lips to her neck and sucking the cream away. She laughed, tilting her neck away.

"Ticklish," she giggled, allowing her lips to mash against Woody's forcefully. He kissed her back. Woody couldn't help but think that Jordan would never let him get this close. As if on cue, the doorbell rang from the front hall. Woody pulled away, giving her an apologetic look as he walked down the hall and swung open the front door.

His face burned with embarrassment and he quickly tried to wipe off the remaining whip cream but he was attempting the inevitable as he looked into the confused and hurt eyes of his visitor.

"Jordan," he said, running his fingers through his hair and staring at them when he pulled them away, covered in the cream. "What's up?" he asked, trying to look nonchalant.

"Woody where's your mop?" a voice from inside his apartment called. If possible, Woody's face turned even more red.

"Um …" he called back, avoiding eye contact with Jordan. "Far closet on the left," he called back. Finally, he turned back to Jordan. "Is there something I can do for you?"

He noticed that she looked incredibly embarrassed but her eyes were burning with hurt and betrayal. Suddenly, Lu appeared from behind Woody.

"Dr Cavanaugh," she gave her a curt nod and a warm smile.

"Detective Simmons," Jordan answered back, returning the professional curtsey.

"Uh I just came by to drop off this case folder," Jordan said, dropping her eyes to the floor and not looking back up. "Here Detective Hoyt," Jordan said, handing him the folder.

He took it in confusion. He couldn't remember the last time she had called him detective Hoyt.

"I better get going," Jordan said, smiling sadly and turning on her heel to leave.

"Jordan wait!" Woody called to her retreating back. He knew he shouldn't, but he felt bad that she had to witness the awkward moment between two people both clad in whip cream.

"I really gotta go Woody," she said, turning back around and starting to walk down the hall. Woody looked behind him, taking into account that Lu was busy wiping up the mess. He stepped out of his apartment and closed the door behind him, running down the hall to catch up with her.

"Jordan wait!" he called out to her, causing her to turn back around hesitantly.

"What Woody!" she asked, her voice slightly exasperated. It took him aback to hear her so off guard and hurt. It made his heart ache a little more than it already was. He stood there for another second just staring at her, trying to see through the façade she had built around her.

"Don't do this Jordan. You have no right to do this," he practically whispered. She took a small step backwards, confused as to what he was saying.

"Do what?" Jordan whispered back. "Woody what the hell are you talking about?" She was afraid; he could see it in her eyes. She had the expression she always wore when she was hurt or confused.

"Don't make me feel bad," he answered, wanting nothing more than to break the contact their eyes had formed but finding it impossible to look away. "You've made your feelings perfectly clear over the past few years. You have absolutely no right to show up and make me feel bad about moving on, about dating other people."

Jordan's confusion disappeared and was replaced with bubbling anger. "Woody I was dropping off a case file!" she yelled at him, dropping her voice at the end of her statement to keep blowing up. "And you're right, I have made my feelings perfectly clear. I opened my heart to you and you did exactly what I was afraid of all along. I was ready to start something, only this time it was you who closed the door," she said, her voice almost inaudible.

She stood there for another second, watching as emotions flickered across his eyes. When she realised that she couldn't tell what he was thinking, she turned and walked away past the elevator and pushed the stairwell door open, walking down and not bothering to look back. Woody stood there, his heart beating a mile a minute, wondering again whether she was telling the truth.

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**READ!**

**Well you guys … there's the first chapter! **

**Here's what I'm planning for next time:**

**Woody, Lu and Jordan are all forced to work on a case together! HAHAH! Things are gonna get ugly. And to satisfy your curiosity and hopefully make you review more because it's gonna cause a lot more curiosity … here's a snippet from the next chapter. **

"**He stood there in limbo, standing between the two women, both of which needed him right now. They were both on the ground, both bleeding, both in need of serious medical attention. His eyes wandered over each of them, his mind internally battling with itself on which he should help. And then it hit him … he knew who he had to choose."**

**Well … there you are. Press that lovely little purple button and you will make my day! Love Megan!**


	2. This Devotion, Nevermore

She couldn't get him out of her head, out of her sight, he had gotten under her skin. Somehow, her office seemed colder, same as her apartment. Something about her run-in with Woody the other day had shaken her up. Her hands were constantly trembling and she jumped at every small movement. Jordan had always been tough, always been able to take care of herself, always prided herself on her independence. And now all the sudden here she was … jumping when a bird landed on the roof. She had been through so many traumatic events in her life … why did one simple argument with the man she had been dodging for the past five years shake her up so bad.

_Lu. _Even the thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. Perhaps it was the fact that she had seen them there … together … in his apartment, both covered in whip cream. There was a finality that set in when she saw him there with another woman, like suddenly the devotion he had possessed for her had suddenly disappeared.

She had never thought of herself of a jealous person. But all the sudden as she saw the two of them there together, that giant green monster that everyone who's man enough to admit talks about, woke up inside of her.

She felt guilty that she had played this game of cat and mouse with Woody for so long; that if maybe she had just taken a leap of faith in their relationship that she would have been the one covered from head to toe in whipping cream in Woody's apartment.

The thoughts swirled heavily around her head until they became a giant whirl of colour and light. She closed her eyes, sliding farther down onto her couch in her office and resting her head in the crook of the armrest and the backing. She nodded off, finally giving up on the inevitable sleep and allowing herself to be sucked into her imagination.

XXXXXXXXXX 

He knocked quietly on her office door, wishing anyone other than him was doing this. After the things he had said to her … _why did he have to say those things?_ Silence greeted his ears after the knock and a small concern flitted over him. He twisted the knob and pushed, swinging the door open and look around for Jordan. Garret had said she was in here … so why wasn't she answering?

His heart-rate slowed as his eyes found her sleeping frame curled up on the couch. Woody took another step in, closing the door behind him and bending down next to her couch. Concern wiggled its way back into his chest as she watched her in uneasy sleep. Her eyes were darting around in her head, back and forth as though she was trying desperately to find something. He legs were twitching every now and again as though she was running for her life and her breathing was shallow and uneven, not to mention the fact that her facial expression was one of sheer terror.

Woody watched as she struggled against something in her sleep, muttering words like 'please' and 'oh god'. Not being able to take another second of watching her suffer, he placed his hand on her arm and shook it.

"Come on Jordan. Wake up," Woody said, shaking her arm to wake her up. But the attempt was futile. She was so engrossed in her sleep that Woody's soft touch was not enough to disturb her.

"Jordan! Jordan! Wake up!" he yelled. But her eyes remained firmly shut. "JORDAN!" he yelled again.

"NOOOOOOO!" she woke up screaming at the top of her lungs. "No, no, no, no, no, no," she kept muttering quietly, gasping for fresh air.

"Jordan," Woody quietly asked.

"No, no, no, no, no," she continued to mutter, burying her head in her lap and heaving dry sobs.

"Jordan … hey … Jordan!" Woody yelled. Her head finally snapped up and she stared into his eyes, fear extremely apparent in both his and hers. He reduced his voice back down to a soothing whisper. "It's ok Jordan. It's alright. It was just a dream. It's over," he said, placing the palm of his hand against her smooth cheek.

Her breathing slowed back down to a normal pace and she closed her eyes, allowing the calm and the scent of his cologne to wash over her. Her breathing was still uneasy and staggered and Woody slid his hand from her face to her arm, holding the spot and forcing her to look him in the eye.

"It was just a dream Jordan. Just a dream," he whispered, his body, mind and heart all aching to gather her in his arms and take away her pain. But yet again his pride got in the way. "It's over. I promise."

Even though she knew he was talking about the nightmare she was having, his words seemed to be reflected onto their relationship. Or lack-there-of.

"You ok?" he asked, handing her the glass of water that was sitting on her desk. She took it gratefully, tipping it to her lips and pouring the liquid down her dry throat. She remained silent.

"Jordan?" he asked again, staring intently into her honey brown eyes for any sign of recognition from her.

She took her head suddenly, her eyes loosing their distance and her mind finally registering that Woody was kneeling beside her. "I'm fine," she gasped, resting her hand on the lower part of her neck.

"What were you dreaming about?" he asked, genuine concern edging its way into his voice.

She started him down, not answering his question. "Are you sure you're alright Jor?" he asked her again. "You're really out of it."

"Ya. I'm fine. Sorry," she replied.

"What's up with you? What were you dreaming about?" he asked, pulling himself up from the ground and sitting beside her body which was drenched in cold sweat.

"Nothing. It was nothing," she replied immediately.

"Little too quick there babe," he said with a smirk. But his smile was not returned and her serious demeanour diminished any type of sarcastic reply he planned on using. "Come on Jordan. You can tell me?"

"Can I?" she asked, finally turning to face him and pulling away from his touch.

"Of course you can," he said, his voice hurt by her accusation. "Jordan you know you can tell me anything; anything at all. Now tell me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours."

"It was just a dream," she answered, stubborn as always. Truthfully, Woody would have been more shocked if she had just opened up immediately and spilled everything.

"I think it was more. It seemed pretty intense."

"It was just a dream Woody; just a dream. Nothing more. It's over now and there's nothing left to talk about."

"Jordan …" his voice was a whisper. "Please."

"You really wanna know?" she asked, her voice questioning.

"Yes," he answered simply.

"Fine I'll tell you. It was about you; about the night you were shot. But this time … this time …" her voice faltered and she gasped for breath. "This time when I got the call, I was too late. You were gone and I spent the rest of my life wondering why the hell I didn't have the nerve to tell you how I really felt."

He was taken aback, wondering where this sudden admition had come from. And yet again, he was left wondering why he had been so stupid and if she was telling the truth.

XXXXXXXXXX Ok now I know I didn't get the chance to put in the part from the preview but I decided to spend this chapter digging deeper into their emotions and such. Now I know that it's pretty un-Jordan like to say all that stuff but for the sake of this story she needs to be a little more open. 

I promise that the next chapter will be about the case with Woody and Lu. SO there you have it. And DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!

**Love, Megan**


	3. Ghosts From The Past

He dipped his head and cleared his throat. Whatever he had been expecting, it had not been that.

"I came here to tell you that Garret has you on a case with me. Twenty-three year old girl found dead in the park, strangled, with what looks like a man's neck tie."

Jordan looked up from her lap and nodded, noting the fact that he was trying to keep this strictly professional. "I'll meet you in the lobby in five minutes," she said, straightening her jeans from her spot on the couch and running her fingers through her long, dark hair.

Woody nodded and stood up, nodding to her before leaving the room. Jordan instantly regretted telling him the truth. Whoever said the truth sets you free was seriously mistaken. She grabbed her jacket from the back of her desk chair and followed Woody's path out the door and down the hall to where he was waiting in the lobby for her.

He handed her the case file and pressed the call button on the elevator as he explained the case. "Man walking his dog found her this morning. I called and asked Garret to send and ME. He said he would send you but then he couldn't find you. I swung by your apartment but you weren't there so I came here and found you …" he said, a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Anyways … ID in her coat pocket identified her as McKenna Bishop, worked as a housekeeper in a house up in Taylor Estates," he said as the elevator doors slid open and they stepped in.

"She lived there with the family?" Jordan asked, flipping through the papers in the file.

"Ya. Actually it's just one girl that lives there. House was registered to a Jeremy Ryder, ex-chief of police at the seventh precinct if you remember. But as you probably know he died three years ago on the job and left the house to his daughter Natalie who is currently attending her final year at Harvard. Little sister Carly, who was twelve at the time, is now fifteen and is the only remaining Ryder left in the house," Woody finished in a huff.

They stepped off the elevator and Jordan followed Woody through the parking garage to his car. "I'm bringing the kid in after I take you to the crime scene. You're welcome to join me if you want," he said, turning to face her and giving her a little smile.

She hesitated before saying, "Sure. My dad used to work with Jeremy. And then Max would come home and talk about his day and Ryder and his kids usually came up. I've met her before but that must have been around twelve years ago," she said, smiling at the memory of the cute, sassy little blonde who was two years old but had the mouth of a teenager.

XXXXXXXXXX 

He had taken her to the crime scene and now they were done. There was nothing spectacular about it that differed from any other scene she had been to before. Other than the fact that McKenna was found laying face down in a patch of grass, her clothes slightly torn and blood caked in her hair.

Bug had transported the body back to the morgue, allowing Jordan to head back to the precinct with Woody. They stood in the main hall, both looking anywhere and everywhere but at each other. The distinct smell of woman's perfume wafted down the hall towards Woody and Jordan, causing them to look up from their shoes.

"Detective Simmons," Woody said, trying to hide the smile on his face. It was bad enough with him and Jordan, now Lu was here too? _'Damn God must hate me today,'_ he thought to himself.

"Detective Hoyt, Dr Cavanaugh," she replied, giving a stiff nod to each of them as she said hello. "I've been assigned to this case," she said, a somewhat smug smile spreading across her pretty face.

"Really?" Woody asked. He had always wondered what it would be like to work with her, if only it hadn't included Jordan which made for an awkward situation.

"Should we go into the viewing room?" Woody asked, gesturing to the door and holding it open for the two women. The filed into the room, turning and facing each other in silence.

To all of their relief, the door to the interrogation room opened and an officer showed a young, blonde girl in. She looked around, staring blandly around the room with an expression of mild curiosity mixed with annoyance. She was wearing a dark green camisole top with light green lace trimming for the straps and plunging v-neckline that accentuated her small but tall frame. A simple silver heart-shaped locket hung from a long chain on her neck and her fingers found their way to it, instinctively playing with the chain.

She was wearing expensive jeans, Seven from what Jordan could tell, and Nine West black boots with a two-inch heel. Her long, wavy, beach-style blonde hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail at the top of her head, her multi-toned bangs slipping slightly into her icy blue eyes.

She looked bored, they all noticed, and Woody made a move to leave the room to interrogate her.

"Wait a sec Wood," Jordan said, putting out her arm to stop him from leaving. "Just wait and see what she does."

Woody stopped and turned around, the three of them watching the young girl.

In a swift movement that was the epitimy of grace and beauty, she took a seat on top of the table, her back to them. Swinging her legs so they were on top of the table as well, she laid back until she was lying on her back, booted legs swinging over the end of the table. She let her head hang back off the other end of the table so it was upside down, popping her bubblegum through her pearly white teeth.

"That's the daughter of the bad-ass cop Jeremy Ryder?" Woody asked in awe. Jordan laughed.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," Woody said, leaving the room to be closely followed by Lu.

The door to the interrogation room opened and the two walked in, Carly's attention turning to them. She sat up and spun around to face them.

"Miss Ryder if you could take a seat … in a chair if you would," Woody said with a smirk. She slightly returned the smile and sat down in a chair, Woody and Lu sitting across from her. "What was your relationship with McKenna Bishop?" Woody asked, looking at Carly with a kind smile on his face.

"McKenna? She works at my house. Takes care of the place since I can't do it by myself," she answered. Her voice was brimming with confidence and self-assurance, but not to the point of being egotistical or full of herself.

"Did she live with you?" Lu asked, leaning across the table to stare her down.

"Ok seriously … what's going on?" Carly asked, cocking her head to one side and trying to stare them down. She maintained eye contact with Woody who was still trying to stare her down, trying to make her break first. But she was tough, and her eyes remained on Woody's waiting for him to break the contact first.

And he did. He finally looked away from her icy blue eyes which were somewhat distant and cold. She smiled in satisfaction. "Now someone better tell me what's going on or read my rights or I'm leaving," she said, smirking at them.

Woody and Lu exchanged a look. She was a lot tougher than her happy-go-lucky, bubblegum popping, expensive clothes wearing exterior let on.

"McKenna Bishop was found murdered in the park early this morning," Lu said swiftly. Her expression remained emotionless but her eyes told a different story. A flicker of deep sadness rushed over her and her lip quivered, hands trembled.

But her need to seem tough and untouchable won over and she closed her eyes, stopping the trembling and regaining her composure. When she spoke, her voice was low and husky, a small crack of emotion pushing through.

"What happened to her?" Carly asked, cupping her chin in her hand and resting her elbow on the table.

"Dr Cavanaugh is working on that. We'll get you some answers Carly. We will," Woody said, placing his hand on top of her smooth, pale one.

"Wait?" she asked, her voice perking up slightly. "Dr Cavanaugh? Jordan Cavanaugh? Max's daughter?" she inquired, her posture straightening up in her chair.

Woody and Lu exchanged another look and behind the glass, Jordan narrowed her eyebrows.

"Ya. What do you know about Jordan?" Woody asked.

"My dad used to talk about Max all the time and Max must have always talked about Jordan because she would always come up," Carly said.

Woody turned behind him to look at the mirror where he knew Jordan was standing watching.

"Is she back there?" Carly asked, noticing the movement and commenting.

Woody turned back to look at her, contemplating on whether or not to lie to her. "No," he said, dropping his eyes to the table.

She tilted her head to the side again, her eyes hardening and boring into his that looked quite similar to hers. "Don't lie to me," she said, her voice demanding and rough.

"What makes you think he's lying?" Lu asked, intrigued by the girl.

"He couldn't look me in the eyes when he said it," she said, never moving her eyes from Woody's. "Damn I can't believe they got to her," she whispered to herself.

"They?" Woody asked. "They who?"

"I wanna talk to Jordan. No one else," she said, another small smile on her face. She loved being stubborn and calling the shots.

"That's not necessary Carly," Woody said, his expression turning from kind and caring to slightly impatient.

"Yes it is. I either talk to Jordan or I leave and don't talk at all," she said, her small disappearing.

Woody and Lu looked at each other before pushing back their chairs and leaving the room and walking into the viewing room where Jordan was waiting.

"You're giving into her?" Jordan asked, turning to Woody and Lu stunned.

"You heard her Jordan," Woody said, pulling up two chairs and sitting down, motioning for Lu to take the other. "She either talks to you or she doesn't talk at all. And she knows things. I think she knows a lot more about McKenna's death than she's telling Lu and I. If she's going to open up for you and give us the information we need, than I need to do what she asks. Like it or not, she's calling the shots … and she knows it too," Woody said, turning his eyes back to the interrogation room where Carly sat waiting.

Jordan didn't say a word. Instead, she turned on her heel and walked into the room, pushing open the door and sitting across from Carly. "The last time I saw you you were two and begging your dad for ice cream," Jordan said, narrowing her eyes and looking at her.

"It's been a long time Jordan," Carly said.

"That it has," she replied. "Why me Carly? Why not Detective's Hoyt and Simmons?" Jordan asked, resting her elbows on the table and placing her chin in her palms, mimicking Carly's body posture.

"They don't understand," she said, dropping her eyes to table between them.

"Don't understand what?" Jordan asked, reaching out one of her hands and placing it on top of Carly's cold, pale one.

"What it's like to loose everyone you love," she replied quietly. "What it's like to have you mother murdered and to find her on your kitchen floor … to spend the rest of your life searching for ghosts from your past; for the killer you'll probably never find. What's it's like to have a cop of a father who throws his whole life into his work and then dies because of it. I know your dad didn't die … not like mine did; not in the line of work shot down by a nineteen-year-old punk robbing a liquor store. But yours did leave you. He abandoned you just like mine did," she said.

For possibly the first time in many years, Jordan found herself speechless. This girl was like a reincarnation of her; her mother murdered, determined cop of a father, spending so much time and energy on chasing ghosts from the past.

"Maybe they don't. Maybe they do. But Carly …" Jordan hesitated, wondering how to draw the young girl into a web of trust in order to get the information they needed.

On the other side of the glass, Lu's blood boiled in jealousy. She wondered why she hadn't been able to connect with Carly on the same level that Jordan had within seconds of sitting down. She was a psychologist; she should have been able to see right through the girl's tough exterior to the hidden pain that lay deep within her veins. But she hadn't.

"We need to know who 'they' are. Don't you want justice for McKenna?" Jordan asked, pulling the guilt card.

"Of course I do. She was like a sister to me, always there was Natalie wasn't. But it's just …" she hesitated, unable to find the words which had lodged themselves in her throat. "I can't tell you what happened; I can't tell you who they are."

"Carly you can trust me. You can trust the detectives. We're here to help you."

"The last time someone told me that they pulled and gun and threatened to kill me," Carly said, her eyes still on Jordan.

"Carly …" she didn't know how to proceed. "You can't keep this to yourself. I know first hand what keeping things bottled up inside does to a person. You run out of time and when you finally burst, a lot of the time it's too late," she said, just trying to convince Carly but ending up talking about her relationship with Woody.

"There's a whole bunch of them," Carly said, taking her head out of her palm and leaning back in the hard chair.

"Whole bunch of who?" Jordan pried.

"People … men. They're a gang of guys, all having been in prison one time or another, most of them put away by notorious cops … like my dad. I guess they met there and promised each other that when they got out, they would get revenge. One of the guys that my dad put away; his son was the one the killed my dad. But now a whole group of them are out and they're terrorizing the families of the cops who put them away. About a month ago I got a call from one of them, saying that if I didn't come up with fifty thousand dollars within the hour he would kill someone close to me.

"I was stubborn and I refused. Twelve hours later my ex-boyfriend is dead, found face down on the bank of the St Charles River," she said, her eyes clouding over with grief.

"Nicholas Lorenzo?" Jordan asked, sitting up as well.

"Ya," Carly replied.

Jordan nodded her head. "It was my case," she explained. Woody's eyes narrowed behind the glass. It had been his case too … and they hadn't solved it.

"Anyways," Carly continued. "I didn't hear from them again until three days ago. They told me I had another chance to make things right and said that if I didn't pay them they'd kill someone else. But I'm still so damn stubborn and when Nick was killed I convinced myself it was just a considence and that they were empty threats. And now McKenna is dead," Carly said, hanging her head in grief.

Jordan hung her head as well, hundreds of similar cases running through her head. In a swift movement, Jordan wheeled around in her seat and turned to face the glass.

"Hey Woody," she said to her reflection. "They're back."

XXXXXXXXXXX 

**Ok now I PROMISE the next chapter will be from the preview. I wanted to explain a bit about who the people that hurt Jordan and Lu are gonna be. Carly' s gonna play a really big part in this story and she's gonna draw Woody and Jordan closer cuz they're so much alike. So there you have it. **

**Don't forget to review …**

**Megan!**


	4. Loop

I'm such a liar. Lol. I promised that this chapter would be from the preview but I decided that I better make it more clear as to whom 'they' are. Enjoy and please don't hate me!

**XXXXXXXXXX**

He opened the door to the interrogation room, mind swimming with the possibilities of how he was going to approach this new found disaster of a situation. Carly and Jordan sat at the table in the middle of the room, staring wide-eyed at the detective.

"It can't be them Jordan," Woody said, closing the door and crossing the threshold to where they were sitting. He pulled up a chair and sat down, running his fingers through his hair.

"Woody countless of other cases have arised in the past year with this exact MO. Three or four of them have been ours," Jordan said, taking her eyes off Carly to turn to Woody. "It's always the same. A guy put away for a minor crime, gets out, and goes after the family of the cop who put him away."

Woody shook his head, not wanting to believe, but knowing, that what Jordan was saying was the truth.

"You mean you've dealt with these people before?" Carly asked, her voice slightly more hopeful.

Jordan and Woody looked away from each other's sad faces to Carly. "Ya," Jordan said after a pause. "They call themselves "X". They've hit a bunch of other families in Boston."

"But what do they want?" Carly asked, tucking a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear.

Woody and Jordan exchanged a look, wondering how to tell the distraught teenager something they didn't know.

"There are many things they could be after Carly," Woody said, dipping his head and looking to his hands which were folded neatly on the table in front of him.

"You have no clue in hell do you?" she asked, an all-knowing, amused smirk crossing her pretty face.

Jordan and Woody smiled at their futile attempts to lie to her.

"No," Woody answered truthfully. But that's not to say that we don't have theories," he defended.

Carly laughed. "Nobody's insulting your detective skills," she smiled warmly. Woody noticed that for the first time since they had met, the smile reached her eyes. "So what are your theories?"

"Money for starters," Woody answered.

"What sense does that makes? It's not like they would get a lot on a cop's salary," Carly replied, leaning back in her chair.

"We also think it could be just for the sake of revenge … self satisfaction. You ruined my life so I'm gonna ruin yours type thing," Jordan offered.

"What kind of sick bastard hurt the families of cops?" Carly asked, her pretty face twisting into a look of revulsion.

Jordan and Woody both held their tongues.

"Carly we have to ask …" Woody let the rest of his sentence hang in the air. "Where were you last night between ten and twelve pm?"

He waited for her to blow up at him for even asking her such a question. But instead, her face showed signs of understanding.

"Logan." Her voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

"The airport?" Jordan inquired.

Carly looked up, ice-cold blue eyes boring into Jordan's dark ones. "I was on the red eye from LA to Boston. My dad use to work for the Sunset Division way back when. They were going through some of their old files and came across my dad's old cases. They were no good to them and they had run out of room in the storage room so they contacted me and asked if I would take them. I said yes. But chain of custody states that it has to be passed in rightful ownership because of the evidence that the cases held and instead of sending one of their valuable officers to bring the files to me …"

"They made you come to them," Jordan finished for her.

Carly nodded. "Flight landed at ten fifteen, got through customs by eleven. Stopped for a bite to eat at cafeteria until eleven thirty and then took a fourty-five minute taxi ride home," she said, examining her nails as though she was merely bored.

"You sure like to keep track of time," Jordan said, a grin spreading across her face.

"Comes with being the daughter of a bad-ass cop," she replied, her face lighting up with her smile.

Woody looked down to the stack of notes in his hands before returning his eyes to the young girl across from him. "Well … I think that's all for now Carly," he said. "We'll call you if we have any further questions." He pushed his chair back and stood.

"Detective Hoyt?" Carly asked, still sitting in the hard plastic chair. Woody turned his crystalline blue eyes to her. "I want to be kept in the loop on this case. I want to know everything you find out. I know it's somewhat unethical but … please."

He turned his eyes to Jordan who had an agreeing look on her face. "I'll try my best: he said as he swung open the door and walked out.

With a last smile to Carly, Jordan followed Woody out of the room.


	5. Stone Walls

"Aucun l'homme que je recherche, son nom est Thomas Avery. Il a vécu avec sa mère à Paris pendant douze années. Il doit y a un disque d'une certaine sorte. Aucun qui n'est pas lui. Dans la mesure où je le connais sont allés à l'école de rue Judas à Paris du centre jusqu'à ce qu'il ait eu onze ans et alors envoyé au loin à une école de réforme," she said in a hurried but fluent French.

Carly stopped short when she caught sight of Jordan, Lu and Woody standing in the doorway to her room, staring wide-eyed in confusion and impression. They had no idea she could speak French that well. She gave them a small smile and held up her pointer finger to show them she would be a second before turning her attention back to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Je ne peux pas parler bien pas. Il y a un officier de police qui est ici pour me voir. Aucun elle ne parle pas français dans la mesure où je sais ainsi ils ne sauront pas ce que je dis. Ne vous inquiétez pas. Vous ne aurez pas un aucun ennui. Mais je vraiment ne peux pas parler. Aucun ne me téléphonez pas. Je vous contacterai quand j'ai besoin. Merci. Au revoir," she finished, hanging up the phone and turning to look at them.

"Hi," Carly said with a smile.

"Hi," Jordan replied, clearly impressed and stunned by the fluentness she spoke with. "Where'd you learn to speak French like that?"

Carly faltered. "My mom's parents use to live in Paris. I use to spend every summer in their villa learning it," she said.

Woody wondered how any parent could not adore her. She was so talented, so amazing. He found it unimaginable that no one wanted her.

It struck Lu as odd about why Carly seemed to feel uncomfortable on the subject, as if it was something she didn't want to talk about.

"Carly is everything ok?" Lu asked.

Carly gave her a confused look, wondering why she was asking.

"I'm fine," she answered automatically, is if on impulse. If there was one thing Carly hated, it was being dependant on people and she refused to let herself trust theses strangers, however nice and kind and helpful they were being. "Do you guys need something?" she asked, her voice bordering on impatient.

Woody, Jordan and Lu all exchanged looks, remembering why they had gone to Carly's house.

"We need your help," Jordan said, taking a tentative step towards Carly who was clearly sceptical.

"With what?" she asked, pulling a chair across the hardwood of her bedroom floor and sitting down on it, eyes locked with Jordan's.

"With finding the bastards that are doing this," Jordan stated matter a factly.

"I'll do whatever you need," she said right away, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear and removing her eyes from Jordan, taking in Woody and Lu who were standing at the door.

"The only thing we need is the address of the place where they asked you to drop the money off at. And no …" Jordan said, knowing what Carly's next question was going to be. "…You cannot come."

Carly's jaw dropped open. "No way! You said you would keep me in the loop. I need to do something. If you want that information I'm coming with you," she threatened.

Woody, Jordan and Lu gaped. They knew Carly was tough, but they had no idea she was so much like Jordan.

"Carly no. It's way to dangerous. I'm not putting your life at risk!" Jordan said.

"Dr Cavanaugh do you know that I've been held at gun point three times already. And every time I've walked away without so much as a scratch. I can take care of myself!" she protested.

"Nobody's doubting that Carly," Lu said softly. "We all just care about you a lot and none of us want to see you hurt."

Woody noticed Carly's demeanour diminish somewhat. She slumped back in her chair as is showing defeat. But her eyes were still burning with the passion of fighting for what she wanted. It confused him. He started to notice her breathing coming in slower and slower gasps until her took a deep shuddering breath to fill her lungs with air.

"Carly are you ok?" Woody asked, moving towards her and bending down beside her chair.

She didn't respond, just clutched her chest and dry heaved. By now Jordan was at her side, pushing her long blonde hair out of her eyes and tilting her head backwards to look at her pupils.

"Carly! Come on Carly!" Jordan said. "Breathe with me. In …" Jordan took a deep breath in and made sure Carly copied her. " …And out," she let the air out, Carly mimicking her every step. "Good job, good job," Jordan said, Carly still breathing slowly and deeply.

"What the hell was that?" Woody asked, his voce tense and afraid. Carly's breathing had now returned to normal and she was sitting in her chair with her eyes closed, hand clamped tightly around the gold heart-shaped locket that hung from her neck.

"A panic attack," Jordan stated simply.

"Is she ok?" Lu asked as she walked over Carly and knelt beside her.

"Ya she'll be fine," Jordan replied.

"I'm fine," Carly said, sighing deeply. "And I'm coming."

"No way in hell!" It was Woody this time. "Carly you just had a panic attack. Now give us the address and I promise we'll call you the second we find out anything," Woody said.

"Bu…"

"No buts," Woody interjected. "Carly I will not be responsible for your death; I have enough on my conscious as it is. Now give us the address."

Carly hesitated but pulled a piece of paper towards her from her desk and wrote it down. "You don't call me … then things are going to get ugly."

Woody couldn't help but smile despite the seriousness of her tone.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Lu and Jordan pulled up to the warehouse, cautiously opening the doors of Lu's car and stepping out.

"It's a shame Woody got that call," Lu said, drawing her gun and walking slightly ahead of Jordan.

"Ya but what can you do. When you get a call saying you got a new lead you gotta run with it," Jordan said, tip-toeing behind Lu.

They quietly stepped into the building, Lu motioning for complete silence. Both were beginning to regret not calling for backup. Silence filled the warehouse, deadly and still as the desert. Jordan wrapped her arms tightly around her body, creating friction to warm herself up. A muffled bang sounded from somewhere to their right and they wheeled around to the sound.

The sickening crunch of metal hitting skull echoed around them as Jordan collided with the floor, slumping to a heap at Lu's feet.

"Jordan!" Lu exclaimed before there was another sound of metal hitting skull and Lu landed in a pile beside Jordan.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

She awoke with her head splitting, pain throbbing between the spot between her eyes at the back of her head. She scrunched her eyes shut, trying to block out the pain. But she was attempting the inevitable. She reopened her eyes, taking in the scene of the dark and dingy room around her.

Rough stone walls made up the large room and a sliver of light peeked its way through a crack somewhere a long ways from her. Jordan attempted to stand but was pulled back down when metal hit her wrist. She twisted to look at what was holding her back, cursing when she saw the handcuffs chaining her to the wall.

"Jordan?" The voice was quiet but somewhere nearby.

"Lu? Is that you?" Jordan asked back.

"Ya Jordan it's me. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Are you?"

"Just dandy," she joked. Jordan smiled.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Woody stood in his office, dialling the same two numbers over and over again. Neither were saying that they were out of service and he knew that Jordan never turned her phone off. So why were both she and Lu not answering? He was getting frustrated.

Finally giving up on trying to reach them, he pulled the address out of his pocket, opening the folded paper and running to his car as his eyes scanned over it.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

They had to still be here somewhere. Lu's car was sitting not three feet from the entrance. He drew his gun and walked through the emptiness that was unsettling him. They had to be here somewhere. A faint clamouring reached his ear and he followed the sound and found a door on the very right wall, seeming to go down to the basement. He pulled it open and swung it towards him, eyes adjusting to the overwhelming darkness that proceeded all the way down a flight of rickety stairs with stone walls.

The took the flight down, flashlight in one hand, gun in the other eyes scanning for the sight of either woman. When he got to the bottom, he was not prepared for what he saw.

There were Jordan and Lu, both sitting ten somewhat feet from each other, chained to the wall. He stood there in limbo, standing between the two women, both of which needed him right now. They were both on the ground, both bleeding, both in need of serious medical attention. His eyes wandered over each of them, his mind internally battling with itself on which he should help. And then it hit him … he knew who he had to choose.


	6. Translation

**Oh and by the way guys …….. the translation! **

Aucun l'homme que je recherche, son nom est Thomas Avery. Il a vécu avec sa mère à Paris pendant douze années. Il doit y a un disque d'une certaine sorte. Aucun qui n'est pas lui. Dans la mesure où je le connais sont allés à l'école de rue Judas à Paris du centre jusqu'à ce qu'il ait eu onze ans et alors envoyé au loin à une école de réforme

**MEANS:**

No that is not the man I'm looking for, his name is Thomas Avery. He lived with his mother in Paris for twelve years. There must be a record of a certain kind. No that's not him. As far as I know he went to the school of St Judas in downtown Paris until he was eleven and then went to reform school.

**EVERYTHING ABOT WHO THOMAS AVERY IS WILL BE EXPLAINED IN LATER CHAPTERS! **

**AND:**

Je ne peux pas parler bien pas. Il y a un officier de police qui est ici pour me voir. Aucun elle ne parle pas français dans la mesure où je sais ainsi ils ne sauront pas ce que je dis. Ne vous inquiétez pas. Vous ne aurez pas un aucun ennui. Mais je vraiment ne peux pas parler. Aucun ne me téléphonez pas. Je vous contacterai quand j'ai besoin. Merci. Au revoir

**MEANS:**

I cannot talk right now. There is a police officer who is here to see me. No he doesn't speak French as far as I know so he does not know what I'm saying. Don't Worry. You will be in any trouble. But I really cannot talk. No don't phone me. I will contact you when I need to. Thank you. Goodbye.

**ENJOY!**


	7. Betrayal

He took tenacious steps towards her; afraid of what he would see when he got there. He could tell she was bleeding, see the way she was slumped against the cold stone wall, her breathing slow and staggered. Her blonde her was plastered to her face with sweat as Woody pulled out his cell phone and dialled Garret's number.

The older mans voice was heavy with exhaustion but the second Woody told him that Jordan was in trouble, he could hear the energy pounce into his voice and the sound of running footsteps and the engine of a car starting. Garret really did care a hell of a lot about Jordan.

Woody turned his attention back to Lu, closing the remaining steps separating them and bending down beside her bleeding body.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly, concern seeping through his voice. He really wanted to help Jordan right now too, but at the moment, he was committed to Lu and he was determined to not screw up the relationship before it really got off the ground.

"Just get me out of here," she muttered, struggling with the chains.

Woody's senses suddenly perked for reasons unknown to him and he swivelled around, facing the corner that Jordan was in. He could see the outline of her slim figure huddled in the corner but she wasn't moving. And although it was hard to tell through the stifling darkness, her chest wasn't moving up and down either.

"Jordan?" Woody asked, fiddling with the lock chaining Lu to the wall while attempting to see if Jordan was ok. There was no response. He turned his attention back to the blonde.

"When was the last time she talked?" Woody asked, finally finding a key on the ground and inserting it into the lock. There was a faint click as the lock came undone and Lu pulled her hands free.

"Maybe about ten minutes ago," Lu asked, rubbing her wrists.

"WOODY! JORDAN!" The voice was faint, coming from somewhere above them. But Woody recognised it anyways.

"GARRET WE'RE DOWN HERE," Woody yelled back.

"You mind?" Lu asked. "I was just knocked in the back of the head and my brain in aching," she said. Woody smiled apologetically.

"Sorry," he muttered. The sound of shoes descending down a flight of stairs reached their ears and they looked up. Garret was running down, nearly tripping over his feet in an attempt to get down the stairs.

"Woody," he said, slightly out of breath. "Where is she?" he asked, taking in the sight of the dark basement and Woody massaging Lu's bruised wrists.

Woody pointed in the direction where Jordan was sitting and in a second Garret was across the threshold and at her side.

"Do you have a key?" he asked. Woody tossed it to him and he caught it gracefully in his left hand, immediately unlocking the chains and tugging Jordan's arms away. "Come on Jordan. Talk to me," Garret said, lightly slapping her face. "JORDAN!" He pounded his fist lightly but hard enough down on her chest and coughing filled the air. "There you are," he said, his voice filled with relief.

Jordan continued to cough. "What the hell happened?" she asked. Garret put his hands under her arms and lifted her into a sitting position.

"I'd like to know the same," Garret said, his voice dripping with venom. "Are you ok?"

"Son of a bitch smacked me in the back of the head with something metal," Jordan said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Garret can you come check out Lu's wound?" Woody asked, looking at the scrape on the back of Lu's head where she was hit.

Garret looked fleetingly at Jordan as he got up and walked over to Lu, gently prodding his fingers onto her head. "It's superficial. It'll be fine," Garret said.

"Thanks," Lu said.

Silence filled the cold room and another wave of unexplainable dread washed over Woody. "Jordan?" he asked, her silence scaring him. "Jordan?" he asked again, the tension and fear in his voice more apparent. She didn't answer back. "Jordan!" He yelled this time and Garret was taken aback by the anxiousness in his voice.

Garret got up from his spot beside Woody and Lu and ran over to Jordan, bending down beside her unmoving body which was slumped against the cold wall. "Jordan!" he yelled. She didn't respond. "Jordan!" Now Garret was worried. And Woody was even more. "DAMNIT!" Garret said suddenly, slamming his fist into the wall. Woody and Lu jumped. "Woody she's gone into shock. I need your help."

Woody was on his feet in an instant, striding quickly across the floor and leaning over Jordan. "What the hell happened to her? She was fine five minutes ago!" Woody said.

"Her body went into shock. Her head wound must be more serious than I thought. Where the hell is that backup I called for!" Garret was bending over Jordan's cold body, Woody's hand clasped in Jordan's. He would be damned if his decision of choosing Lu over Jordan was the death of her.

"What do we do?" Woody asked.

"I need you to give her CPR!" Garret said.

"What!" Woody protested. He had only kissed Jordan on two occasions, not including the Lucy Carver Inn. And, of course, only when he's off the market does the opportunity arise to kiss her again.

"I'm not asking you to make out with her!" Garret said as though he was acting like a child in grade five. "Just breath air into her lungs while I do the recessitation!" Garret said.

Woody gave Lu a fleeting glance before staring into Jordan's motionless face and bending lower.

"Don't forget to plug her nose and tilt her head back," Garret's voice sounded from somewhere above him.

Woody did as he was told and tilted her head gently back, plugging her nose with his left hand and gently lowering his mouth to hers, right hand still clasped in Jordan's. He slowly breathed out, the air from his lungs travelling down her throat and into her own. He lifted his mouth away, the lingering taste of her strawberry lip-gloss coating his lips.

He and Lu watched as Garret pressed down on her chest three times, counting each impression he made. "Again," he said to Woody.

He obeyed and pressed his lips to Jordan's, mouth open, breathing the life back into her; literally. Garret slammed his fist down onto her chest in frustration and the sound of her coughing brought them out of their reverie.

The first thing she saw as she opened her eyes was Woody kneeling above her. She could feel a lingering sensation on her lips as she coughed the air back into her lungs and memories flooded her brain.

_The desert in the Mohave Desert in LA. Sitting at the front of the Hollywood sign. The Lucy Carver Inn. _

She recognised the feeling as Woody's lips, the familiar and welcome feeling allowing her to breath easier. She could smell his cologne also. He was so close she could practically taste him. And then the betrayal came. She and Lu had both been laying on the ground, both bleeding. Yet he had chosen Lu over her. It made her lungs collapse a little all over again.

Garret, Woody and Lu all breathed a sigh of relief as Jordan pushed herself into a sitting position and brushed the dirt out of her hair. Through the silence, the sound of sirens could be heard blaring towards them and Jordan couldn't help but think that she would rather be laying, unconscious, on the ground with Woody's lips upon hers than awake and having to face the unbearable reality of the betrayal she felt.


	8. Tap

Something was different. Everything was the same, yet something was different. The room was more cold, the air more stifling, the loneliness more pronounced. She couldn't quite put her finger on it; all she knew was that nothing was the same since she got back from the hospital. The clock on her microwave read 5:30 and she sighed. It had been at least ten hours since she last touched a bite of food and yet she wasn't hungry.

Her strength just seemed to be gone though she suspected it was partially from the sleeping pills she took a couple minutes ago. Jordan brushed a piece of stray hair behind her ear and sat heavily down on her couch, tapping her fingers impatiently against the armrest. The sound of her radio was lulling her eyes closed, music calling her to sleep. She tried to fight it, tried to push it away. But the calming noise of the slow song and the sound of the running tap from her bathtub were too much to fight and she collapsed deeper into the couch, eyes closed with sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX 

He pounded his fist on the red door, calling her name continuously. But there was no reply.

"Come on Jordan it's me!" Woody called from the other side of the door, his voice pleading. "Jordan Garret told me you were here and I can hear the tap running! Open the door!" He was getting impatient now. Not to mention a little frightened. Whenever he had gone over to her apartment before and she didn't want to see him she always just called back through the door. But this time there was no reply whatsoever. He was concerned. Extremely.

"Please Jordan!" He called one last time, promising himself that if she didn't answer he would break down the door.

Nothing.

He took a couple steps back, prepared to go running into the door. He took one running stop forward but stopped abruptly when a light bulb went off in his head. He reached for his set of keys which were buried deep in his pocket, extracting them from his jeans and flipping through them to find the right one.

Woody looked at it momentarily, wondering whether just breaking down the door would have been simpler. If Jordan was ok and was simply ignoring him, then he would have to go into the explanation of why he had a key to her apartment. And he really didn't want to go there. Not tonight. Right now he simply wanted to make sure that she was ok. The fact that Lily was so concerned about her made him worry. But then again Lily was always worried about Jordan. Who wasn't? The girl had issues.

Shrugging off the consequences of his actions and deciding he would deal with them if they came up, Woody inserted the key into the lock and twisted, turning the knob and swinging the door inward. He glanced around the room, noticing that it wasn't all that different from the last time he had been there.

Dishes were scattered around the kitchen, filling up the sink and most of the counter-space. Blanket that he assumed Kayla was using were piled in a corner and finally, his eyes came upon Jordan's figure curled up on the couch. Woody sighed a sigh of relief and swung the door shut behind him, crossing the threshold and walking over to the couch, bending down beside the couch and staring at her with a smile on his face.

Her curly hair was splayed across her face haphazardly; ringlet's covering her dark, closed eyes. She was curled up on her side, knees pulled up to her chest. Woody brushed the stray pieces of hair from out of her face and smiled again. She looked so peaceful. It was then that the sound of running water was brought back to Woody's attention and he stood abruptly, looking wildly around for the source of the noise.

He followed it through Jordan's bedroom to the bathroom and stepped cautiously in, foot immediately plunging into a puddle of water.

"Ugggg…" he said, shaking off his foot and reaching over to the overflowing bathtub to turn off the taps. With a sigh, he pushed his hand into the semi-warm water and pulled the plug, the water immediately beginning to spiral as it wound it's way down the drain. Finding a couple of towels in the linen closet, Woody placed them gingerly down on the floor, knowing that it wouldn't be enough to clean the soaking floor, and stepped down, allowing the towels to soak up as much liquid as they would allow.

Satisfied enough with his cleaning job, Woody left the bathroom and walked into Jordan's kitchen, looking around in dismay. He knew that she had spent a couple of days in the hospital and the day he had gone to visit her she had just been released. He knew that he should have gone and seen her earlier, but he just couldn't bring himself to face her. He knew that he had betrayed her.

Something orange buried under a three day old newspaper caught his eye and he lifted the newspaper away, picking up the pill bottle from the counter. He twisted it in circles, attempting to find the part of the label that said what it was for.

_"Sleeping Pills. Prescribed for emotion distress. Take one every night half and hour before sleep. Take no more than three a day,"_ the bottle read.

_Emotional distress? _Woody knew that Jordan had issues; he just didn't know that emotional distress was one of them, or that she had sought help for it. The bottles dates said that she picked it up yesterday so Woody unscrewed the cap and peered inside.

It looked as though no more than three or four could have been missing and he sighed with relief. Three was the maximum that a person could take in a day but Woody knew that was just for safety issues, that you could safely take four without causing serious bodily harm, it just wasn't recommended. And that was assuming that Jordan had even taken that many.

He mentally told himself to shut up and closed the bottle, walking back over to the couch and bending down beside her. Her chest was lightly rising and falling with each breath she took and Woody felt slightly better. At least she was breathing.

He brushed more pieces of hair from her eyes and tucked them behind her ear, watching as she stirred slightly in her sleep and her eyes started to flutter open. She squinted, hard, before fully opening her eyes and sitting up, a confused look on her face.

"Woody," she said sleepily, running a hand over her tired eyes. "How did you get in here?" She sounded mildly upset and Woody knelt a little farther back.

"Door was unlocked," he lied. Jordan gave him a look that stated that she knew he was lying but didn't say anything more about it and he didn't press the issue. "Are you ok? You were out cold when I got here." His tone was concern, genuinely caring.

"Ohmigod the bath!" Jordan exclaimed, jumping up from the couch and starting to run to the bathroom.

But Woody had jumped up just as fast as her and grabbed her arm as she ran. "Jordan, Jordan, Jordan," he said in a huff as she struggled against him.

"Let go of me Woody!" she yelled, still trying to tug her arm away. But he was stronger. "Woody let me go!" Her tone was deadly serious and Woody became confused.

He didn't understand. Just a second ago she was fine. And now she was trying to wrangle her arm out of his grasp as if he was going to kill her. "Jordan I already turned to tub off!" But his words seemed to just bounce off her and she tried even harder to pull away.

"I have to go turn the bath of Woody!" She was screaming now and he could see the tears starting to make their way down her cheeks. So he held a little tighter, trying to pull her into his arms.

"Hey, hey, hey! Jordan come on!"

"No Woody, no! LET ME GO!" she cried desperately.

"JORDAN! But she still was paying no attention, trying to get away from him. But he could see that her strength was wavering and he was going to win eventually.

"The bath …" she sobbed. It was then that her strength gave out and she started to fall but Woody was quicker than that. He reached out and pulled her little weight into him, holding her frail, trembling body to his chest.

He knew then that it wasn't about the bath. It was never about the bath. He just didn't know what it was. He pulled her a little closer, her head resting against his shoulder, tears soaking his shirt.

"Shhh," he cooed, trying to comfort her body-raking sobs. "It's ok Jordan. It's ok. Everything's ok Jor. It's alright."

His words seemed to be working because she relaxed a little in his arms, her weigh becoming limp as she stopped fighting him and leaned against him instead. Jordan's breathing became a little easier and her survival instinct less pronounced as she really let herself need someone for the first time.

Woody hugged her a little tighter as he felt her arms loop loosely over his shoulder and clasp behind his neck. This was the first time he could ever remember Jordan allowing herself to need him; or anyone for that matter.

She sniffled a little and Woody brought his head up to her head, running his fingers through her tangle of dark curls and wondering to himself, why he ever found comfort with Lu.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Ok so we're leaning a little more towards a Woody/Jordan story now! YAY! So there you have it. **

**Oh and in the interest of not getting sued : I'M NOT A DOCTOR! Everything I said about sleeping pills was completely made up so don't take what I said literally. Lol. Ok so that's all for now. **

**Enjoy and don't forget to R&R**

**Love, Megan**


	9. Hook, Line, Shutdown

He guided his eyes back to her frame resting soundly in his arms. It had been at least five minutes since she had moved from his embrace. Actually, five minutes since she had even attempted to move from his arms. Woody was confused. He had just witnessed a total and utter mental breakdown from Jordan and now here she was, her tired body resting against his, not putting up the slightest fight.

He shifted his position slightly, though not enough to disturb her peace. When her body just moved with his, Woody ducked his head sideways to look at her face. Her eyes were closed in sleep, chest rising and falling against his. It was clear that she had fallen back asleep.

Woody sighed and let out a little laugh. Gently moving her arms so they were positioned securely around his neck, he slid one arm around her back and the other under her thighs, pulling her up into his arms and carrying her into her room. He placed her gently down on her bed, resting her head against the pillow and following with her body.

Once he was sure that she looked comfortable, he backed hesitantly out of her room and slid the glass door shut behind him, silently crossing into the living room and sitting heavily down on her couch. Never, ever, in almost five years of knowing her, had he _ever _seen her so vulnerable.

Sure she had had her weak moments. Who doesn't? But this was a new extreme. A meltdown. He didn't really know how else to describe it. It was so un-Jordan like. With a jump, he felt his cell phone vibrating from somewhere deep inside his pocket and with a sigh, pulled it out.

"Hoyt," he answered promptly and inwardly groaned when he heard the voice on the other end.

"Woody hey. Where are you?" Lu asked timidly from the other end of the phone.

He sighed and pushed his hair back before answering. But before he had a chance to, Lu answered her own question.

"You're with Jordan aren't you?" she asked, her voice holding a slight accusation.

Woody's silence answered her question. "I'm sorry," was all he could manage, even though he wasn't.

Lu was silent in return. "Don't be," she said before hanging up the phone and leaving Woody hanging.

Slightly angry, he hung up his phone and sat back on the couch, closing his eyes and wishing Jordan was awake so they could finally get things out in the open and hash things out. As if hearing his silent plea, he opened his eyes and there was standing, arms crossed shyly across her chest.

"Jordan," he said tersely, sitting on the edge of his seat.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, walking around the couch and perching herself lightly on the arm.

"For what?" he asked, genuine concern flitting though his voice.

"For having to witness that." He noticed how she called it 'that', suggesting that she also had no idea what had happened only twenty minutes ago.

"Don't be. You're human," he replied with a small grin. "It's ok to show emotion some times." Her face remained bland as though she disagreed but wasn't in the mood to start an argument. "You know," he started hesitantly, "Maybe we should talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about," she said, standing from her spot and walking into her kitchen.

"Jordan come on!" Woody said, standing and following her. He wasn't going to give up this easily. Not this time.

She blatantly ignored him and poured herself a glass of wine, filling up an extra and passing it across the counter to him. But he brushed it off dismissively and continued to look at her. She finally brought her eyes up to his, pleadingly, and silently begged him to let it go. But he wasn't going to give up. They had skirted around this issue for far too long. He refused to be brushed off again. When Jordan finally realized that he wasn't going to give up, she sighed and took a swig of her wine.

"It's just …" she started.

_Hook. _

"I can't …"

_Line. _

Woody waited patiently for her to continue.

"Never mind."

_Shutdown. _

He sighed, his patience wavering. Woody had actually believed that this was going somewhere.

"Jordan come on. This is me you're talking to. I know when something's up. Just talk to me," he begged.

She looked into his pleading eyes, actually contemplating telling him how she really felt. "Woody," her voice was tired.

"Jordan please!" But his was even more so. Tired of playing games. Tired of skirting around the edges of their relationship. Tired of waiting for her.

"I thought we were finally getting somewhere," she finally said after a silence, more to her wine glass than Woody.

Woody gently reached out his hand and lifted her chin so she was looking him in the eye, gave her an encouraging nod, and gestured for her to continue, pulling his hand slowly away.

"I mean …" she hesitated but another sip from her wine glass gave her the encouragement she needed to continue. "I thought we were finally getting somewhere. We had made it past the anger, past the awkwardness. And then there was the Lucy Carver Inn. You begged me to tell Pollack and I did. But then when I offered you to come in that one time …" She wasn't sure how to continue. "You told me you didn't want to be my rebound guy."

"Jordan …" Woody interjected.

"No I'm not done," she said, on a role and not wanting to break it. "I thought that maybe you just needed some time. I wanted to tell you then and there that you were never the rebound guy. You were always the guy I was rebounding from."

She tried to ignore the look of blatant shock on his face as she continued.

"And then I found out that you were seeing Lu. I was so confused, I still am. Here I am, standing here like a fool in love and waiting for a man who's apparently seeing someone else."

She clasped her hand to her mouth, unaware at the time that she had said what she had just said. Her eyes were wide with honest guilt, wondering whether or not he had hear what she had said.

"What did you say?"

She could tell from the tone in his voice that it was a rhetorical question.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything," she said quickly and instantly regretting it.

She watched in awe as Woody walked slowly around the kitchen island and towards her, his face expressionless and unreadable. He stopped only a foot from her, reaching out one of his hands and placing it on the back of her neck.

Shivers ran down her spine despite the fact that his palm was warm. And instead of running like she normally would have done, she closed her eyes to his touch and leaned slightly towards him. This was the only encouragement he needs as he allowed his other arm to loop around her waist.

Slowly, she tilted her head up to his and crashed her mouth into his, allowing years of passion and sexual tension to spread rapidly through her body. He pulled her tighter to him, kissing her softer but with more passion than either had ever felt. And for Woody, the fact that she never pulled away told him all that he needed to know.


End file.
